


Sigil

by wowitsanaltaccount



Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye egos - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Anyways, Branding, Chapter 2 is now UP, Comfort, Crying, Evil Anti, Hurt Marvin, Hurt/Comfort, Knives, Marvin has scars under his mask because i said so, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Proceed with caution, Torture, Whump, ao3 give our boys official character tags you cowards, except grammarly, featuring fun things such as, he is not a soft boi in this one sorry, im sick and tired of having to scroll through real person fic bc of ao3s cowardice, like for real, love you bitch, marvin whump, no beta we die like men, this gets dark, this goes for every ego fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27988020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wowitsanaltaccount/pseuds/wowitsanaltaccount
Summary: “Anti, please-”He was cut off by a giggle from Anti. “̵͜M̷͜a͏k͜e̢̧͞ ̷͢s̕u͜r҉͠e͢͞͞ ̛͜t͞o ҉͠͠sc͟͡re̴am̕ ͟nicȩ ̨a̛̕҉nd̴͘͠ ̶̡lo̶u҉̵̧d̸ ͘͟f̵o̶r͜ ͡m̶e͠,̨ ̷p̢e͢t̡.̕”
Relationships: Jackieboy Man & Henrik von Schneeplestein, Marvin the Magnificent & Henrik von Schneeplestein, Marvin the Magnificent & Jackieboy Man
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Kitten

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, holy shit, hello. Thank you for clicking on my fic! I assume that if you've made it this far you've read the tags and description, but I will put a final warning anyway. This is not normal whump. This is full-on torture. Proceed with caution. 
> 
> You're still here? Great! You're in for a ride, I presume you're just as starved for ego whump as I am. In that case, I happily provide. Have fun!

The last thing Marvin could remember was packing his props and leaving the theatre. His show had been a success and he had begun the walk home in high spirits. As he strolled through the late evening in the dim glow of the lamplight, he spotted two mega-fans he had seen in the front row of the theatre. Despite his good mood, he didn’t have the energy for fans tonight so he ducked into a nearby alleyway to avoid them. A shuffling came from behind him, but when he turned to make sure nothing was amiss something solid connected with his temple and everything went dark.

He woke slowly, groaning as he raised his aching head. Wha- “̴o͟h he͏llo҉ t̸he͡re͡ ͡k̶it͟t̸y͟.̷ ̶Yo̕u ͢f̵i͡n̛a̕ll͜y̵ w̡o͢ke͢ ̨u̢p͢,͏ I ͏w̶as̛ ge̸tti̷ng ̢boŗe̶d.” Anti. He tried to spit something witty back at him only to realize a gag was blocking the way. Anti noticed his futile attempt at speech, “W҉e͝l͝l I͝ ̵coul͏d͜n’̨t h̨a͟v͠e ͝y̛oų tr͢yin͡g ̴to͢ u͘se ̶an͟y̷ ͜s̛pe̢l͝ls҉. ͡I̧ h̢av̶e plan̕s͢ fo̡r ̨yo̡u ͡thaţ incl̨u̢d̸e yo̕u̢ st͢a҉y̷in̨g ͞ri̢g̡ht̕ wh̨e͏r͜e you a̵r͠e̡.” He gave a glitched, haunting giggle as he stepped toward where Marvin had been chained to a pole.

Warily, Marvin leaned away at Anti’s approach, shrinking into the pole behind him. But he couldn’t get far and Anti stepped up to him, grabbing his chin with bruising force and locking their eyes. ̶“S̕ee͘, kit̶te҉n͜,”͡ Marvin flinched at the nickname, “̴y͡ou͜’̨̡r̴̡e͢ ͢͝i͏n̡͞͞ ͡m̵̧y̷̨ ̧͘w̵̨͠ąy͞.̕͠”͠҉ He giggled again, letting go of Marvin’s face to deliver a backhand that should have knocked off Marvin’s mask. “͝E̛ve͢r҉y͢ t҉ime҉ I ̨t̢r̛y ̷to ̧d҉o ̷s̸om̕et͏hing̶. ̧T͝o ͜ki͝l̛l͘ ͘S̴e̸á҉n̴,͠ ͢tak̸e ov͡e͟r͝ the̶ ̧c͏han͏n̵e͘l̸,̛ ͢w̕h̸ate͜ver͢ I ̢want̴ ͡r͠ea͝l͜l͜y̨. Yo͘u ̢a҉n̸d ̢yǫur̕ li̧ttle ̕b͞and͞ o͝f ͞m͏erry͜ ҉m͠en ͝are there.”̶ He punctuated the last word with a blow to Marvin’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As Marvin coughed and gasped Anti continued, “̢I’m ti̛r̕e͏d̸ of̧ be̸in͞g s͝to̸p̛p̧ed.͘ ͟I͞ hav͟e͡ ͜a͡ ̴co͏upl̨e̶ of͏ t̸hings̕ ̶I w̨a̵n͜t to ̵do͠, an͟d I ̷fi͡g̴u͡r̛ed͢ ͜if̕ ̕I͟ ͏g̷o͢t a͠ ̡relati͞v͢el̴y͢ ͠s͞t̨ro͏ng ͠p̛la͜y͏er ou̴t̡ of̶ the ̛ga͠m̡e̕ thęn͢ I’d̨ ̛wi͢n ̶f̕or͜ onc͞e. ̡A̷nd͢ ͠won’t̨ ͡th͜at͘ be n͘i̷c͝e?” His tone was mockingly sweet on the last sentence, the false smile melting into a snarl as he delivered more blows to Marvin.

Finally, he stepped back, watching as Marvin recovered from the beating he’d just received. “̡Y’̶k͞now,̨ k̨i͞tten͜, I’v̧e be̢en͢ e̸xp͞erim͏e̴nt͏in͞g with a l̨i͡t͝tle m҉ag͠ic m̨ys̷elf͟. ͡I w̕ant̕ you t̶o̕ tel̕l̵ ̵me̴ w̵hat ̶yo̧u̸ t̶hink̴.̢” He glitched across the room and out of Marvin’s range of vision. A wave of heat permeated the air, breaking the chill of the cold metal and concrete room. Suddenly Anti reappeared, carefully cradling something red-orange and glowing. A brand. The end was a swirling, mystifying shape that looked almost Celtic in origin. Anti grinned, sharp and feral, “̢w̴͢h͘a҉̨t̷͏ ̧͏͞d͠o͏̵ ͜y̢̕ou ̴t͡͝hi͢n͟͏k̵͟͜,̵̢ ki̕͜t̷tȩ̢͠n̨̕?̸͡ I’ve ̡been rȩsȩa̴r̨ch҉in̕g̡ sig҉ils͡ ̢and͠ I͏ ͡c͝a͏me ͜a̛cro͡ss͢ ͢a ra̶th͝er͜ int͜ere̕sti͠ng͟ o̷ne҉. Se͏ę, ̕a͝pp҉aren̨tl͘y,̢ ţh҉is s҉i͞gi̧l ͞can͘ l͢oc̴k away̧ ͟m͝ąg̶i҉c ͜a̷b͜il͢ities so̷ th̡at a ma͘g͜ici̷an͠ ca̢n n̴o lo̡n̶g͡e͏r̢ us͟e th͠em͟.” He giggled sharply as Marvin’s eyes went wide and his face paled. A muffled noise of protest made it through the gag. 

“̶̕͝Th͟in̴k̨̡ ̢͞w̶͞e̸̕͢ ͢͡҉s͟ho͟͜͠ul̴̛d ̡͝t̶͘ęs̢t͠ ̸̶͝i͞t?̵”̸ The brand had cooled to a dull red, no longer burning as hot. Anti disappeared from his vision and Marvin heard metallic clanking before Anti reappeared in front of him, far too close. He had apparently dropped the theatrics, for now, efficiently ripping off Marvin’s cape and undoing the buttons on his shirt. He grinned at the developing bruises he’d left on Marvin, pinching one of them with a grin before glitching away again. More metallic sounds came from behind and Marvin began to panic. He couldn’t use magic without speaking, but if this happened he would never be able to use magic again. 

Before he could come up with a clever solution Anti reappeared. He was grinning ear to ear and carrying the brand, now a neon orange. He knelt in front of the magician who was pressed against the pole behind him and hyperventilating. Anti took a moment to relish in the panic before lining up the brand. Marvin felt the heat against his skin. Pausing for a moment, Anti seemed to consider something before reaching out and pulling out Marvin’s gag. “̨I ͢w̴̢͢a̢̢͝n̛t̷͝͏ ͜ţ̴͠o͢ ̛͏h̶͝͝ear ̶͝yo̧͟ur̛ ̧͠d͠el̢i̧͘c͟҉i͠o̸̷u͡s̢͝ ̶͞s̸c̡͞r̸͟e͡a͢͠m̸͞͏s͟,̨͝ ̡k̷͜i̢͘ţ͞te̶n.̨̡”͠͡ Quickly, to not give Marvin the opportunity for a spell, he drove the brand forward, pressing it to the center of Marvin’s chest.

Oh, Marvin howled. He reeled back as far as he could, body tensing, arms struggling from where they were chained above his head. Anti relished in the pain, the struggle, the screams, they were music to his ears. Marvin was lost in a world of pain. He felt his very being, his soul, rip in half as the sigil tore away his magic. He was created with magic in mind, it was a fundamental part of his being, and now it was being violently ripped away. Finally, the brand was pulled away and his screams died out, replaced by whimpers as the last of his magic was separated from his soul and locked away by the brand.

Anti pulled away and the tension in Marvin’s limbs released, he slumped against the pole, consumed by aching pain. The brand clattered on the floor somewhere near, Anti’s gleeful giggles punctuating the sound.“͟Th̵a̧t ͜was d̸el͡i͘ght̶ful,̶ kitte̕n! ͏You ͟m̨ad͡e such ̛bea̧u̡ti͠ful̢ noįs͢ęs fo͡r͡ ͢me͘.”̢ A darker tone entered his voice, “͘͝I̴̴ ͜c̡̨an’t̡̨ ̡w̷͟a̢įt̢͢ ̸̨t̸̡͏o̧͟ ̶͝͝h͜͞͝ęa͞͠r҉̴̕ ͡͡t͜h͠͏͝e̸m ҉ag͘a͜i̢n͘.͡͏̵”̸

-

Jackie hummed as he carried the full mugs of coffee down the hall towards Henrik’s clinic. He had left some in the pot too, knowing that Henrik would want another cup and Marvin would be home from his show soon, probably exhausted. As he turned the corner the door to the clinic came into view, slightly cracked for ease of open with full hands, to Jackie’s relief. 

Before he reached the door, however, a wave of intense pain crashed over him. He cried out in shock and crumbled to his knees, hot coffee spilling over the floor and his hands, mugs crashing as his knees met the ground harshly. He collapsed forwards, catching himself on the ground that was burning hot and covered in shards of ceramic. A tear slipped out of his eye as the pain grew, forcing a pained noise from his throat. 

Then, as suddenly as it began, the pain stopped. For a moment he relished in the relief, until the clinic door slammed the rest of the way open, Henrik barreling though. He took in the scene, Jackie on his knees in a puddle of coffee and mug shards, looking pitiful. “Vhat happened?” He exclaimed as he crouched carefully in front of Jackie, examining his hands.

Before Jackie had a chance to say anything, Henrik had him up and was shuffling them into the clinic to check Jackie’s hands and legs. After an examination in which Jackie was too shocked to say much, he declared, “you are very lucky zhere are no major cuts or burns. But you vill need to be careful doing your ‘super activities’ for a while.” He gave a scathing look, knowing that Jackie would probably ignore his advice.

Jackie sighed, “sorry doc, but I don’t think that’ll be possible. Marv’s in serious danger.” Before Henrik could ask he continued, “remember that time I got grabbed by Anti? After you guys rescued me Marvin was distraught and blamed himself. He buried himself in magic research to make sure it never happened again and eventually he created a soul bond between us. I just felt a wave of intense pain before the bond shattered, I can’t feel him anymore.” A note of panic entered Jackie’s voice, “Henrik, I can’t feel him!”

Henrik was well versed in soothing panicked patients, “Jackie, hey, ve’ll figure this out.” The best way to help Jackie was a distraction, “come, ve check his room for magic-y things. Zhen, we find his theatre and figure out what happened from zhere, okay?” Jackie nodded shakily, focusing on the task at hand to distract from his worst-case scenario thoughts.

He would find Marvin and he would bring him home, no matter what.

-

Marvin shuddered as Anti caressed his face, humming thoughtfully.͟ “I͝ ̕wơn͘d͢er̡…͟” Slowly, almost terrifyingly tender, he reached for Marvin’s mask. Now that Marvin’s magic was gone, his enchantments had been broken, so his mask easily came off his face, fluttering to the floor as Anti grinned. “W̴h͏o͘ ̶k̛n͞ew͞ you we̶r͘e ͟al͞r͝e͡ady ̛s͏o̵ br͟ok̛en, ͘kit͡te͏n͘?”͝ He trailed his thumb across the scars on Marvin’s face in mock tenderness, before suddenly digging a claw into the skin under his eye. 

Marvin yelped, flinching away from the claw as a droplet of blood trailed down his face. “Don’t touch my scars.” He had meant to sound threatening, but with his voice wrecked from screaming and filled with pain, instead, it came out more like a plead.

Anti simply reached for his face again, “what̴ are ͠yo̡u͜ gon̨n̷a̷ d̴o͢, ki̧t̛t͝en̵? Magic̵?”͘ He laughed as Marvin flinched away from the nickname and his touch, and glitched away again. Tauntingly, his voice came from behind,“I̕ ̧h̛a̸ve ͜so̧ m͜an̢y̢ toys ̧for yo͞u̶ herę,̴ ͞p͠et͡. ̧W̕h̢ich o̕n̢e shall̛ w͜e͡ t͟r͠y n͠ext̛? ̶H̢m̧, ee̛n͝y,͢ ̛me̵e͟n͏y̶,̵ ҉m͠iney҉,̧ ͟th͢is̴ on͏e.̢”͝ He reappeared in front of Marvin, carrying a corkscrew in one hand and his signature knife in the other. 

With another glitch, he was closer, sitting on Marvin’s legs and grinning ferally as he leaned in far too close. Marvin’s eyes were locked on the small tool, not wanting to imagine the amount of pain it could bring but knowing he wouldn’t have to imagine soon. “Anti, please-”  
  
He was cut off by a giggle from Anti as the corkscrew was positioned over his leg, knife discarded for later use. “̵͜M̷͜a͏k͜e̢̧͞ ̷͢s̕u͜r҉͠e͢͞͞ ̛͜t͞o ҉͠͠sc͟͡re̴am̕ ͟nicȩ ̨a̛̕҉nd̴͘͠ ̶̡lo̶u҉̵̧d̸ ͘͟f̵o̶r͜ ͡m̶e͠,̨ ̷p̢e͢t̡.̕”

-

Marvin’s room had yielded no answers, the distinct lack of the usual magic feeling in the air only gave them more questions. Next, they had to check the theatre Marvin had performed at. Jackie wanted Henrik to stay in the clinic and prepare for a worst-case scenario but the German doctor had insisted on taking his traveling medkit and coming with. “I vill not just sit and wait for you to put both him and you in danger! I’m coming vith, you cannot stop me.” So with that said, they lied to Chase (to avoid more concern,) and set off.

The theatre was dark and empty when they arrived, doors closed and locked. Trying to avoid breaking in, for now, they turn and see if they can retrace Marvin’s steps. After futilely searching for a while, with no clues found, they begin to get frustrated. Eventually, Jackie collapsed in a nearby alley, ducking out of the public eye to put his head in his hands and gather himself. After a minute Henrik noticed he no longer had Jackie by his side and had to double back to the alley to get him.

“What if we don’t find him?” Jackie asked, his voice a wreck, tears slipping from under his mask. Something in Henrik’s heart snapped, an ego’s death wasn’t necessarily permanent, but it wasn’t easy either. Especially if they couldn’t find Marvin to recover the body. 

Henrik knelt next to Jackie, taking one of his hands. “Ve vill find him.” His tone was solemn, a promise that he intended to keep. “No matter how long it takes, somezhing vill lead us to him and ve’ll bring him home. Whoever has him can’t keep him forever.” 

Jackie looked up at him with damp eyes filled with determination. “Thanks, Hen.” He stood up, holding out a hand to help Henrik up when he noticed something over the other man’s shoulder. There was blood on the wall. “Hey doc, look at this.” He pointed to the splatter for Henrik to investigate as he looked at the surroundings. His foot connected with something that skidded across the concrete, clattering loudly in the silence of the alley. Kneeling to look, Jackie picked up a familiar knife with blood on the handle and a pack of playing cards. “Shit.” Henrik turned, but before he could ask any questions he saw the items in Jackie’s hands. “Anti has Marvin.”

-

Marvin coughed weakly, the latest round of torture was putting a strain on his throat from the screaming. Anti had just finished another round of carving him up, stinging cuts were all over his arms and torso, and the corkscrew was still buried in his leg. He looked up at Anti, who was gleefully playing with the blood on his knife. “The others will come for me you know. Jackie will stop you.” His voice was scratchy and weak, but clear enough that Anti understood.

With a screech, he was on Marvin again, knife at his throat. “J̡ac͘k̛i̶e c̢an t̶ry, ̨b̶u͟t ̨h̢e͘’̷ll҉ ̢j̛u̧st jo̧in̴ ̸y̵ou.̷ Then͡ ̨I͞’ll h̷a̛ve͟ t͜w͢o ͡ţoy̢s̸, ̡I҉ ̕b̛et̴ ̸h̨is̡ ̛s͡cre̶ams͟ ̧will͏ b҉e ͠ju͜st̸ a͡s d͞ęl̴ic̡i͝ous a̷s͝ y̡ours,̨ kit̴ten͝.͏”

Marvin paled, barely daring to breathe due to the knife at his throat. “No,” he whispered, horrified at the thought of Jackie having to endure Anti’s ‘games’ again. Anti giggled, removing the knife from his neck and instead choosing to dig it into Marvin’s thigh. He cried out as the sudden pain drew him away from his disastrous thoughts. Marvin leaned his head back, closing his eyes and trying to distance himself from the pain and fear. Anti drew another line of pain and blood on him and Marvin let out a whine, his entire body was in pain, sharp and aching. 

“͟A̛w, c̷ome͘ on kit̨t͡en, ͏sc̷rea͢m͜ ͞ni͜c̨e̵ ͠and ͜loud̡ ̶fo͝r͝ ҉me.̛” Without warning, Anti grabbed the corkscrew and twisted it harshly, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from Marvin. Pretending to pout, Anti spoke again, “̧I̧͟ ͞d̨̢o͘n̡’͠t͢ ͘͠t̢͝h̴͝i̶̧n̶k ̛t͡h̴͞a͜ţ̢ ̡w̧as g̵͢o͏ơd ͏e̵͝n҉҉o͞ug̨h͟,̡͟͞ ̧̛tr̡y̨ ͜a̶gą͏i͠n̡.͘”̷ He dug his claws into a cut on Marvin’s side, drawing a scream from his lips. 

Before Anti could try anything else, the door behind Marvin burst open, revealing Jackie and Henrik with dark looks in their eyes. Anti leaped up to greet them, knife at the ready. “̕Oh̷ ̷͢͠h̵͘͜e͡l͝l̸҉͢o,̕ ̡͡͝l̴oo͠k̸s ͞͡҉l͏i̕͝͏k̕͝e̵ ̛I̵’̕͜l͏̶l͢͝ ̷̸̛b̡͘e̡ ̕g̸̕ȩ̕t͝t̕i̕n̷͡g̵ ̶m͜or̕҉e͏̴͠ ̸͠p̸̨͜l̨a̷y͝t̡͢hing͟͏s̡ ͢͞ţh͠a͢n̸͢ ̢͝ex̛̛͡p̴e͘͝ct̵e̴̶͞d͏͡.̕͠ ̸W̶̨on̷͢’̛t th̨̧͝a̡͞t̢͜͡ ͘͠͞be͢ ̷̧͠n͢i̷̧c͞͡e̷̕͘,̶̧͟ ki̢t̷̢҉t̶͏e̶̷͠n̡?͏”̛͘ He harshly kicked Marvin’s side, causing him to groan weakly.

“He’s not your kitten, and we’re not your playthings.” Jackie’s voice was murderous. He glanced at Henrik, who gave a slight nod, and launched himself at Anti, leading with a punch to the face. 

As soon as Anti was out of the way Henrik rushed forward, medkit clutched in hand. Marvin grinned weakly at the sight of a friendly face, “hey doc.” Even those two simple words were too much for his destroyed throat and he coughed harshly.

“No speaking Marvin. Let me take care of you.” Henrik commanded as the battle raged behind him. Marvin nodded weakly as the doctor began cleaning and wrapping whatever he could. Henrik’s fingers ghosted over the sigil branded into Marvin’s chest, “vhat has he done to you?” He whispered in shock and horror.

Marvin’s eyes fluttered open. “Hen, you’re not gonna like this but I need you to cut that. It’s blocking my magic,” He explained weakly. 

Henrik nodded, “I do not like it Marv, but I vill, for you.” Henrik began preparing a scalpel, “this vill not be pretty Marvin.” He warned, before quickly slicing over the burn as if racing his doctor instincts. Marvin cried out weakly at the initial pain, but instead of fading like every other cut, it grew. His initial cry quickly became a scream as he felt his magic be released and reunite with his soul. Somehow more painful than being ripped apart, he could feel himself being knitted together. 

Jackie stopped his fight with Anti as Marvin’s scream filled the air. He immediately rushed to Henrik’s side, dropping to his knees in front of Marvin to find what was wrong. Behind them, Anti rose to his feet, confused. He hadn’t done anything, and the doctor wasn’t stupid enough to hurt Marvin this much. When he saw that his sigil had been broken his smile dropped. Realizing that he had failed again, he glitched away, knowing he would get his fun another day.

Marvin slumped, exhausted and in pain. Jackie broke the manacles around his wrists and caught him as he fell with nothing supporting him anymore. “Henrik, what was that?” Jackie demanded, trying to let Marvin rest.

Henrik stumbled, trying to find the right words. “I- he said that burn vas a sigil blocking his magic. I don’t know, Jackie.” Before he could continue, Marvin mumbled something from where he was cradled against Jackie.

“M’ magic ‘s part of me. Th’ sigil separated us, hurts a lot.” He tucked his head back into Jackie’s comforting hold, evidently done talking. 

Jackie ran a comforting hand through his hair, looking to Henrik. “Is there anything you need to take care of right now, or should we bring him home to the clinic?”

Henrik ran a critical eye over Marvin’s form. “I’ve done vhat I can for most of the cuts. I vill need to treat zhe burn and head vound in the clinic, and I don’t vant to take zhat,” he gestured to the corkscrew, voice filled with disgust, “out until I can examine it.”

Jackie picked up Marvin’s discarded mask, looking at the blood splattered on it. “I wish I had killed Anti when I had the chance.” His tone was deadly serious, and something in Henrik agreed.

Henrik took the mask, gently placing it in his medkit before closing the lid and picking it up. “Let’s just get Marvin home.”


	2. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! It's me, your favorite bitch, back with another chapter literally the day after releasing the first one. Enjoy the angst and comfort!

Marvin sat on the rug in his room, surrounded by ancient tomes and scattered papers. He couldn’t remember the last time he had taken a break, searching endlessly for answers. He had to find a spell to get rid of scars, it existed somewhere, he just couldn’t find it. Searching after his accident had yielded nothing, but he had more resources and experience now, he could do it.

The light above his head flickered but he didn’t notice, head buried in a large spellbook. He poured over translations and symbols, searching desperately for a solution. The light flickered again, more dramatically this time. The shadows over his page warped and Marvin finally noticed that something was wrong.

As soon as he looked up, everything went to hell. The light flickered continuously as if someone was messing with the switch, and a maniacal giggle filled the room. Marvin froze, fear filling his body like ice. The light above his head glitched and fizzed as Anti used it to glitch into the room. As soon as he was stood in front of Marvin the lightbulb shattered, plunging the room into darkness. The only light to see by was the dim glow of Marvin’s enchanted ceiling.

“̕͝H̷͜͡e͞l̸̡l͜͝ơ,̸ ̸̕k͢i̶͘t͏t̵̴̸e̴̷n̡͜.͝”҉ Anti practically purred, knife pointed at Marvin’s throat.̧“D̴id̶ yo̕u real͢ly th̵i̶nk̕ I͢’d ̷l͏et y̛ou g̢et̴ a̶w҉a҉y̶ ̡fŗom ̨m̢e ̵that easi͟l͜y?”̕ Anti loomed over Marvin’s frozen figure, claws too sharp, smile too wide, eyes practically glowing a sickly green. Marvin couldn’t breathe, Anti’s aura pressing in from all sides. He blinked and suddenly he was tied to a bedpost, arms stretched above him, wrists bound uncomfortably tight. As Anti’s knife ghosted over his stomach he realized that his shirt and cape were gone, he shivered at the touch of cold metal. 

“͝I͜͝ t̶͏hin͜k ̕͞we͝͡ ̶͡s͡h̴o̧̕u̢͝l̨d ̸̨͢fix͘ t͟h̡͟is̨,̛͢͠” Anti giggled, ghosting the knife over the broken sigil on Marvin’s chest. He tried to protest, yell for help, do anything, but the gag he hadn’t realized was in his mouth prevented any noise. He felt powerless, terrified at the prospect of going through Anti’s torture again. 

The knife fell, carving swirling lines into his skin, reforming the sigil that would block his magic again, and he screamed. 

-

A crash startled him back into reality, apparently, he had flailed enough to knock his empty mug off the nightstand. He felt constricted, kicking his blankets off and frantically scrambling to the corner of his bed. His back pressed against the cold wall, providing him a view of the entire room.  _ Anti isn’t here. He can’t hurt you.  _ His breath came in short gasps, his lungs weren’t getting enough air.  _ He can’t- He- _

The door opened, the light briefly blinding Marvin. “Are you okay? I heard a crash- Marv?” It was Jackie, stood in a sleep shirt and shorts, hair ruffled and eyes tired. He rushed over to the bed, carefully stepping around the broken mug shards on the floor. “What’s wrong?” He reached out to Marvin, trying to offer comfort. 

Marvin only panicked further at the hands invading his space. He lashed out, smacking the hands away and pressing himself farther into the corner he had placed himself in.

“Alright no touching, that’s okay. Do you want me to talk?” Marvin just stared at him, tears streaking down his face. “You don’t have to talk, just nod or shake your head, okay?” Marvin nodded shakily. “Do you need a distraction, do you want me to talk?” Jackie asked, voice calm and gentle. Marvin nodded again, less shaky this time. “Okay, I can do that.” Jackie began to tell Marvin about his daily patrol, rambling about even the littlest of things just so he would have enough to talk about.

After about fifteen minutes and a topic change, Marvin’s breathing had slowed down to a somewhat normal pace. Five minutes and another topic change later, Jackie’s rambling about an insane woman at the grocery store was interrupted by a small, “I’m sorry.”

Jackie visibly brightened at the two small words, “Marv!” Then he realized what Marvin had said, “wait, why are you sorry?”

“I woke you up, and I’m just being stupid. You can go back to bed now, thank you for helping.” Marvin muttered quietly, hands shaking. Oh. It had been a while, but Jackie had experienced a similar thing after his time with Anti. He always felt terrible for bothering Henrik. 

Okay, he could deal with this. “Marv, you never bother me with things like this. It’s not your fault you had a nightmare and a panic attack, you had a terrible experience. I’ll always be there to help when you need me.” His tone was deadly serious but still warm and comforting at the same time. 

Marvin began crying and he nodded frantically, wiping away the tears that poured down his face. “Hey Marv, is it okay if I hug you now? You can say no,” Jackie asked. Marvin just began crying harder as he grabbed for Jackie almost blindly.

They reached each other and Marvin clung to Jackie like a koala, getting tears all over his nightshirt. Jackie clung to him just as hard, rocking him softly and threading his fingers through Marvin’s hair. They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other. As Marvin’s sobbing slowed down Jackie began to hum an old Irish lullaby.

Exhausted from his nightmare and panic attack, Marvin fell asleep in Jackie’s arms. Jackie sat with him for just a bit longer, taking in his peaceful face free from stress and uncovered by his mask. Eventually, though, he laid Marvin down, recovering the blanket from where it had fallen and tucking it around him gently. Unwilling to leave his friend alone and risk another bad dream, he laid down next to Marvin, settling in for the night. Hopefully, there would be no more nightmares tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my self-indulgent disaster of a fic!! I personally don't experience panic attacks or PTSD dreams, so everything I wrote here was a product of thorough research, please feel free to point out mistakes so I can fix them!
> 
> Please leave kudos and a comment, they will absolutely make my day! If you're too anxious to leave a comment, understandable. Me too tbh. Please instead spam <3 in the comments if that is the case, I'll love it just as much I promise.

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, what an ending. Wasn't that delightful. I promise I'm not a sadist, I write fluff sometimes! There is fluff in store for the next chapter, don't you worry. 
> 
> Anyways, if you liked the fic please leave kudos and a comment! Getting feedback from readers always makes my day. If you're too anxious to leave a comment, I totally understand. Me too tbh. Please spam <3 in the comments instead if that is the case, I promise I will love it just as much as any other comment.


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